NCLAT upholds the highest penalty imposed by CCI on cement cartel*
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) by way of a judgement dated 25 July 2018 has upheld the penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on 11 cement companies for cartelization. The CCI in its (...)

In the Flash Fiber case the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has closed by a commitment decision an Article 101 TFEU investigation into a horizontal cooperation agreement concerning the telecommunication sector. After the implementation of the commitments agreed with the parties, the ICA (...)

Sale of agricultural tractors*
The Autorité closes the investigation against agricultural tractor manufacturers John Deere and AGCO (Massey Ferguson, Fendt, Laverda and Valtra).
It has ensured that the manufacturers change their commercial practices in respect of dealers in order to (...)

Spain’s Supreme Court has voided a contract including an exclusive-supply clause in favour of Repsol, following a judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“ECJ”) in which the ECJ confirmed that national courts are not precluded from assessing potentially anti-competitive agreements (...)

HCC has accepted commitments proposed by Roma Pizza S.A. to address competition concerns with regard to the terms of its franchise / distribution system following a complaint by former franchisees*
By its unanimous decision no. 639/2017, the Chamber of the Hellenic Competition Commission (...)

Commitment decision on free choice of provider of cash handling and cash transportation services*
The Danish Competition and Consumer Authority (“DCCA”) has accepted commitments offered by the parties in a case concerning an agreement on supply of cash handling and transportation services.
The (...)

CCPC secures commitments in the supply of graduation gowns*
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has secured Commitments from a number of Irish universities to change their procurement practices in the supply of graduation gowns. Following a complaint, the CCPC sought (...)

On November 23, 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union (Court of Justice) dealt a blow to the European Commission’s (Commission) power to close antitrust investigations with commitment decisions, with its ruling in Case C-547/16 Gasorba et al. v. Repsol. The Court of Justice ruled that (...)

Accepted Commitments by Duing and Fred Bobek*
The Croatian Competition Agency (CCA) closed two proceedings for the establishment of prohibited agreements by accepting commitments proposed by the parties concerned – Duing d.o.o. from Viškovo and Fred Bobek d.o.o. from Vodice active in the sales (...)

On 4 May 2017, the European Commission (“Commission”) announced that it had accepted, pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No.1/2003, to make binding commitments that Amazon offered ending the use of parity clauses in distribution agreements with electronic book (“e-book”) publishers. These (...)

Bundeskartellamt ends proceedings against Deutsche Funkturm after pricing structure amendments*
The Bundeskartellamt has terminated the administrative proceedings which it initiated against Deutsche Funkturm GmbH, Münster in January 2015. In the proceedings the authority investigated suspected (...)

Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) rejects appeals of Ford, Nissan and Toyota against CCI Order in Car Spare Parts case but reduces penalty amounts*
In an important and path breaking order the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) vide order dated December 9, 2016 has upheld the earlier (...)

CCA accepted committments by Drezga d.o.o.*
The Croatian Competition Agency (CCA) opened the ex-officio infringement proceeding against the undertaking Drezga d.o.o., an authorised distributor for Husqvarna Group products, based on the fact that the contracts this undertaking concluded with (...)

Territorial restrictions in media content licensing – lessons from the Paramount commitments decision* The European Commission’s battle against territorial restrictions in media content licences continues on a number of fronts. One of those is an investigation launched in January 2014 into (...)

On 26 July 2016, the Commission made legally binding the commitments offered by Paramount Pictures (“Paramount”) as it considered that they adequately addressed its concerns regarding specific contractual clauses restricting passive sales.
In July 2015, the Commission had expressed concerns that (...)

Executive summary, by the Secretariat*
Considering the discussion at the roundtable on commitment decisions in non-merger cases, held by the Competition Committee on 17 June 2016, the Secretariat’s background paper, the delegates’ written submissions and presentations by the speakers, several (...)

On 4 November 2011 the Moldovan Competition Authority (CC) concluded its investigation into the alleged anti-competitive practices on the market for charter air passenger transport by accepting a series of commitments offered by the tour operators and airline companies involved. The case (...)

The HCC accepts commitments by steel producers regarding the exchange of information in the context of their trade association, while further rejecting complaints about other alleged infringements in the markets for the production, distribution and accreditation of steel products*
The HCC (...)

The Danish Competition Council has made Botjek A / S’ commitments binding*
Botjek A/S has proposed commitments in order to ensure that the members of the Botjek chain are free to compete with each other to perform building condition reports, reports on the conditions of electrical installations (...)

Car retailers can cooperate with intermediaries for new cars. Restrictions imposed by manufacturers lifted following Bundeskartellamt proceedings.*
In the spring of this year the Bundeskartellamt initiated proceedings against the automobile manufacturers Ford, Opel and PSA Peugeot Citroën for (...)

HCC accepted commitments proposed by tobacco manufacturers to meet competition concerns in the market for the sale of tobacco products in Greece*
The Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC), by a unanimous decision, accepted commitments proposed by the leading producers of tobacco products in (...)

Distribution of consumer goods in the French overseas territories*
The Autorité de la concurrence has obtained from several mainland manufacturers their commitment to put an end to the exclusive distribution of their products in the French overseas territories and to implement a competitive (...)

Unlawful restriction of online sales of ASICS running shoes*
The Bundeskartellamt has concluded its proceeding on anti-competitive clauses in the distribution system of ASICS Deutschland. The authority accuses ASICS of having restricted the online sales activities of small and medium-sized (...)

CCA accepts committments made by Orion*
The Croatian Competition Agency (CCA) accepted the committments made by the undertaking Orion that will redress competition concerns and restore the normal competitive conditions in the resale of pyrotechnic products. Orion made the commitments on its (...)

The Swaziland Competition Commission power to impose administrative fines under spotlight*
On Tuesday 14 July 2015, the Swaziland Competition Commission (the “SCC”) Board heard the substantive issues related to the anticompetitive behavior of Eagles Nest and Usuthu Poultry Farm (the “Parties”). (...)

The UK Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") published a report on 7 July 2015 setting out its provisional findings in a market investigation of the energy sector, in particular for gas and electricity at both wholesale and retail levels in the UK. Market investigations involve in-depth (...)

In its decision no RGD 2/2015 of 30th June 2015 (the “Decision”), the Polish Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (“Competition Authority”) accepted commitments proposed by the Poland-based company “Investment Trading Consulting” (“Company”), Polish exclusive distributor of prams and (...)

Extension of the commitments made by the Groupement des Cartes Bancaires (CB Bank Cards Group) to the Autorité de la concurrence regarding the level of inter-bank payment fees until the European regulation comes into force.*
In 2011, within the context of the examination by the Autorité de la (...)

The case of MasterCard and OTP is closed by the acceptance of commitments*
The Hungarian Competition Authority (Gazdasági Versenyhivatal – GVH) accepted the commitments offered by MasterCard Europe Sprl (MasterCard) and OTP Bank Nyrt. (OTP), through the implementation of which the undertakings (...)

With Decision No. 25508 of 4 June 2015, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”), accepted the commitments proposed by Novartis Farma S.p.A. (“Novartis”) and Italfarmaco S.p.A. (“Italfarmaco”, together the “Parties”) and closed the investigation opened following a complaint lodged by the (...)

By a commitment decision made on 21 April 2015 in the Mercato dei Servizi Turistici-Prenotazione Alberghiere Online case (thereinfter Online Hotel Reservation) the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has closed an Article 101 TFEU investigation against Booking. The ICA has launched the (...)

By a decision made on 28 January 2015 in the case Organizzazione Servizi Marittimi nel Golfo di Napoli (Gulf of Naples) the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has imposed fines in excess of € 14 million on seven ferry operators (Alilauro, Alilauro Gruson, SLMGL, NLG, SNAV and Medmar Navi), two (...)

For the first time: The Competition Council applies sanctions for failure to comply with the commitments*
The Competition Council has sanctioned Avenir Telecom and Euronet Services companies and the Professional Football League (LPF) with fines totalling 705,079 lei (approx. 156,340 euros) for (...)

Film Distributor Trade Association fined for price fixing and collective boycott*
In its last reported decisions of 2014, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), in two separate cases, fined the Film Distributors Association of Kerala (a state in India) 5% of its turnover (in each case) for (...)

The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) decided that, according to Art. 14-ter of Italian Law 287/1990, the commitments that Novartis and Italfarmaco had submitted in order to alleviate concerns in terms of an alleged infringement of Art. 101 TFEU, should have been published, both in its (...)

The Autorité de la concurrence fines three removal companies for having colluded in presenting cover quotes*
The Autorité de la concurrence has issued a decision in which it fines three removal companies for having presented cover quotes in order to distort competition in the military personnel (...)

UAB G4S LIETUVA restricted competition within the markets of cash handling and cash-in-transit services*
The Competition Council (KT) found that the actions of UAB G4S Lietuva (G4S) breached Article 5 of the Law on Competition and Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European (...)

With its decisions of 17 September 2014 the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA” or the “Authority”) closed with a commitment decision an investigation into the collective buying group Centrale Italiana S.c.a.r.l. (“Centrale Italiana”) and five competing large retail chains which are members of it (...)

Three Cement Companies in Jilin Province Fined RMB 114 million for Price Fixing*
On 9 September 2014, the NDRC announced that its local price bureau in Jilin Province, the Jilin Price Bureau, had fined 3 cement companies (Jilin Yatai, Northern Cement, and Jidong Cement) a total of RMB 114.39 (...)

NCAA’s Loss In O’Bannon Trial May Be Only A Partial Victory For Competition*
Although competition scored a win on Friday in the student athletes’ antitrust suit led by former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon against the NCAA, it wasn’t a complete blowout.
Judge Claudia Wilken of the U.S. (...)

With its decision of 20 November 2013, the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA” or “Authority”) initiated an investigation against Enervit S.p.A., a company active in the production and distribution of sport and diet food products (“Enervit” or the “Company”) , to verify if, in the vertical relations (...)

Adidas abandons ban on sales via online market places*
The Bundeskartellamt has closed its proceedings against adidas AG (adidas) after the company amended its conditions for online sales in such a way that they comply with competition law.
adidas operates a selective distribution system (...)

Franchise chain has fixed selling prices and shared markets of supply with respect to milking robots*
On 25 June 2014, the Danish Competition Council (DCC) ruled in a case concerning anticompetitive behavior regarding the market for milking systems, the market for repair and maintenance of (...)

Three Questions for the Third Week of the O’Bannon v. NCAA Trial*
As the O’Bannon v. NCAA trial enters its third week, commentators are already predicting the fall of the “college sports cartel.” In the case, a group of about 20 current and former college men’s basketball and football players, led (...)

ACCC takes action following alleged egg cartel attempt*
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against:
the Australian Egg Corporation Limited (AECL);
Mr James Kellaway, the managing director of AECL;
two egg (...)

Swedish Bodybuilding Association changes its application of loyalty clause*
The Swedish Competition Authority welcomes the Swedish Bodybuilding Association’s (SKKF) confirmation that it will not suspend or fine members who participate in competing events.
The Swedish Competition Authority has (...)

Competition Authority secures High Court undertakings from the Irish Medical Organisation*
The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has today provided undertakings to the High Court (i) not to organise or recommend the collective withdrawal of services or boycotts by its members and (ii) to advise (...)

Luxembourg: The Competition Council renders binding Commitments offered by Chamber of Experts abandoning Use of hourly Fees*
By decision of 26 May 2014, the Competition Council accepted the commitments offered by the Chamber of Experts of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (CEL) and closed the (...)

On 20 May 2014, the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA” or “Authority”) closed the investigation it had begun in June 2013 into eight of the biggest Italian insurance companies by issuing a commitment decision . The Authority had opened the investigation to assess whether the vertical agreements (...)

In its decision of 20 May 2014 the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has accepted the commitments offered by seven major insurance companies to end an antitrust investigation into vertical agreements with their agents. The investigated insurance companies were UnipolSai Assicurazioni, (...)

This article was originally published on In Competition by King & Wood Mallesons (click here).
Lettuce leaf them alone
Last month, the French Court of Appeal upheld an appeal against a fine imposed by the French competition authority for price fixing in the endive market. The endive (...)

The Ebooks Saga: Kobo’s challenge explained*
Ebook retailer Kobo is challenging a settlement entered into by the Competition Bureau with ebook publishers. The settlement has been stayed pending this challenge. Kobo’s challenge may have major implications for competition law enforcement in (...)

KitchenAid distributor undertakes not to induce retailers on minimum prices*
Peter McInnes Pty Ltd (Peter McInnes), an importer and wholesaler of kitchenware products including KitchenAid stand mixers, has acknowledged concerns from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that it (...)

Standard charges for retailers in electronic cash card payment system abandoned*
The leading banking associations in Germany are to abandon their agreement on standard charges payable by retailers for use of the electronic cash card payment system. The associations have undertaken a commitment (...)

Press releases published on New Zealand Commerce Commission Commerce Commission confirms forex investigation*
The Commerce Commission has confirmed that it has an investigation into possible manipulation of currency rates and possible influencing of benchmarks in foreign exchange (forex) (...)

U.S. FTC Finalizes Settlements in Association Code of Ethics Cases*
As an update to two association cases that I blogged about last December (see: here), this past Friday the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had approved settlements with two professional associations for (...)

$11 million penalties imposed on Flight Centre*
The Federal Court has today made declarations and ordered that Flight Centre pay penalties totalling $11 million for repeatedly attempting to enter into anti-competitive arrangements with three international airlines to eliminate differences in (...)

In the Photovoltaic Inverter case the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has opened an Article 101 TFEU investigation into an alleged resale price maintenance agreement (RPM) in the photovoltaic market . Recently, the ICA decided to publish and subject to a market test the set of behavioural (...)

Danish Competition Council Accepts New Commitments regarding Danish Football Clubs’ Joint Sale of Media Rights*
On 26 February 2014 the Danish Competition Council accepted new commitments offered by the Association of Danish League Clubs regarding the clubs’ joint sale of media rights to Danish (...)

On 26 February 2014 the Danish Competition Council (“DCC”) accepted revised commitments offered by the Association of Danish League Clubs (“ADLC”) regarding the joint sale of media rights to the premier Danish football leagues. The new commitments allow for a longer rights period (6 years), but (...)

Big spike in small business contacts to competition regulator*
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched the latest Small Business in Focus Report which outlines its work in the sector.
ACCC Deputy Chair Dr Michael Schaper said that the report highlights the ongoing (...)

United Kingdom: OFT clears Way for Discounts on Hotel Rooms*
On 31 January 2014, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) accepted formal commitments from two of the UK’s largest online travel agents, Booking.com B.V. (Booking.com) and Expedia Inc (Expedia), together with InterContinental Hotels (...)

Tire service chains ordered to pay fines for illegal joint tendering*
The Stockholm City Court has ordered the tire service chains Däckia AB (Däckia) and Euromaster AB (Euromaster) to pay administrative fines amounting to SEK 2.5 million for illegal joint tendering in two public procurements. (...)

On 2 January 2014 the recently created National Markets and Competition Commission (“CNMC”) imposed a fine of over €3.1 million on AENA, AENA Aeropuertos and eleven car rental companies for colluding over certain car rental contractual conditions as well as exchanging sensitive commercial (...)

Press releases published on New Zealand Commerce Commission Commission commences proceedings in relation to Auckland timber cartel*
The Commerce Commission has today filed proceedings in the High Court against Carter Holt Harvey Limited for price fixing in the Auckland timber market.
Carter (...)

Anti-Competitive Price Fixing Agreement in the Real Estate Business*
A small cooperative chain of independent real estate agents – BoligOne – had notified their commercialization agreement to the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority.
According to the agreement, the parties had i.a. agreed (...)

Competition Council accepts commitments from The Danish Construction Association regarding exchange of information agreement*
On 18 December 2013 the Danish Competition Council (DCC) accepted commitments from the Danish Construction Association regarding concerns that an exchange of (...)

ACCC takes action against NSK for alleged cartel conduct*
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has instituted proceedings in the Federal Court, Sydney, against NSK Australia Pty Ltd (NSK) for alleged cartel conduct relating to the supply of ball and roller bearings for use in (...)

On 15 June 2012, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation asked the Competition Authority (“the Authority”) to carry out a study of competition in the ports sector in Ireland, in accordance with section 30(2) of the Competition Act 2002. The Authority examined the level of inter-port (...)

Quo vadis? Political interventionism in South African competition law*
There has been a somewhat startling demonstration of diverging views regarding interventionism in competition matters between emerging and established jurisdictions.
During the recent BRICS international competition (...)

New Publications: DoJ & FTC Testimony Posted from Antitrust Subcommittee Hearings*
The Americans are not ones to pussy foot around when it comes to economic crime. Yesterday, the U.S. Senate’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights held cartel related hearings (...)

Conspiracy, the CAT, and the Court of Appeal: “Here is a case unprecedented” (The Gondoliers, Act 2)*
In W.H. Newson Holding Limited & ors v IMI plc & ors [2013] EWCA Civ 1377, the Court of Appeal has made some important new law regarding the scope of section 47A of the Competition Act (...)

ACCC quarterly report puts spotlight on statutory information gathering powers*
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has published its September 2013 quarterly report, ACCCount. In the last quarter, the ACCC was involved in 10 proceedings relating to competition enforcement (...)

Canadian Supreme Court Clears the Way for Indirect Purchaser Competition Class Actions: Reason and Clarity Prevail in Previously Muddled Area*
Earlier today the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) released three long-awaited companion judgments that finally create clarity and certainty in the area (...)

ACCC reauthorises Rural Doctors to collectively negotiate*
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has allowed the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) and its state associations to continue to collectively negotiate with state and territory health departments, on behalf of (...)

Due process arguments come to the fore as the Botswana Competition Authority gears itself for enforcement*
In September and October, the Botswana Competition Commission (Commission) took its first two rulings on cartel enforcement. Both rulings have a keen (if not almost exhaustive) focus on (...)

Greece: The Hellenic Competition Commission issues Commitments Decision on Foreign Language School Owners’ Association*
On 25 October 2013 the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC) published its decision No 554/VII/2012 regarding anticompetitive practices of seven professional associations of (...)

German Federal Cartel Office spares Sennheiser’s online policy from scrutiny*
On 24 October 2013 the German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) stated (available only in German) that it will not open formal proceedings against Sennheiser, a manufacturer of consumer electronic products, following recent (...)

$2 million penalty for bearings cartel*
The Federal Court has made orders by consent against Koyo Australia Pty Ltd ordering it to pay penalties of $2 million following action by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The Court found that in 2008 and 2009, Koyo Australia made and (...)

Almost nine months later… and still no signs of the Mozambique Competition Authority*
On April 11, 2013, the Mozambique Competition Act was passed. We wrote a piece on the potential advent of competition law in Mozambique here, brusquely entitled: Antitrust in Mozambique? …could have stayed in (...)

This study analyses the decision of the Turkish Competition Authority (TCA) in which it has decided that optimum price system of the multinational producer of hygiene, health and home care products, Reckitt Benckiser, did not amount to resale price maintenance, but its non-competition clauses (...)

The Unintended Consequences of the Case Law on Restrictions by Object*
On second thoughts, the recent bad case law on the notion of “restriction by object” may incidentally, and unexpectedly, fetter the margins of the Commission, and in particular its ability to handle all cases under the obese (...)

U.S. Agency Heads Discuss Antitrust Enforcement Priorities*
Two of the most significant conferences on the antitrust calendar were held last week. Georgetown Law Center featured its Seventh Annual Global Antitrust Enforcement Symposium on September 25, and Fordham Law School’s 40th annual (...)

Press Release published on the official website of the French Competition Authority.
The Autorité de la concurrence has obtained a significant reduction in the main interbank fees charged by Mastercard and Visa respectively. With these decisions, the Autorité de la concurrence has completed the (...)

France: The Autorité de la concurrence obtains significant Reduction of main Multilateral Interchange Fees charged by MasterCard and Visa on Domestic Card Transactions*
On 20 September 2013, the Autorité de la concurrence (the Autorité) accepted Visa and MasterCard’s binding commitments to reduce (...)

U.S. District Court rules Apple colluded on E-Book Prices*
On 10 July 2013 the District Court in Manhattan ruled in United States v. Apple Inc., et al that Apple conspired with five major publishers to raise prices on e-books. The publishers settled and denied any wrongdoing. However, the case (...)

Press releases published on New Zealand Commerce Commission
Court endorses penalty in trans-Tasman cartel case*
Visy Board Pty Ltd (Visy) has been ordered to pay a penalty of $3.6 million in the High Court in Auckland today, and its former senior executive John Carroll $25,000, for breaching (...)

Hotel Online Booking: The OFT announces its intention to accept binding commitments*
On 9 August 2013, the OFT issued draft commitments in the Hotel Online Booking investigation. The OFT has investigated the relevant markets for over 2 years and has provisionally found that certain hotels (...)

Chinese Antitrust Agency Imposed Record Fines on Baby Formula Brands An Analysis on the Application of the Leniency Program under the PRC Anti-Monopoly Law*
Background of Record-Breaking Fine
Late June of this year, it was reported that the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) (...)

Justice Department Proposes Remedy for Apple’s Antitrust Violations in e-Book Market*
The Department of Justice Antitrust Division on Friday filed its proposed remedy with the federal district court in New York City, addressing Apple Inc.’s role in a conspiracy among publishers to fix retail (...)

Chinese Court’s Roadmap on Vertical Monopoly Analysis: Some Comments on the Final Judgment on Rainbow vs. Johnson & Johnson Case*
On August 1 2013, Shanghai People’s High Court (the Court) handed down judgment on the first private antitrust action involving vertical agreements under the (...)

ACCC takes action against Koyo for alleged cartel conduct*
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has instituted civil proceedings in the Federal Court against Koyo Australia Pty Ltd (Koyo) for alleged cartel conduct relating to the supply of ball and roller bearings for use in (...)

I. Introduction
Any natural or legal person who can show a legitimate interest may lodge a complaint concerning an antitrust infringement as stipulated by article 7 of the Regulation No 1/2003. The Commission is not required to investigate each of the complaints lodged with it, but only to (...)

e-books: Vertical participation in hub and spoke agreements*
The 10 July judgment in the American e-books case (US v Apple) addresses an important question not yet examined under European competition law: what determines the liability of the vertical participant (“B”) in an A-B-C information (...)

Competition Council accepts commitments from Denmark’s largest purchasing association for pharmacists*
On 26 June 2013 the Danish Competition Council accepted commitments from A-apoteket – a purchasing association for pharmacists – on the basis of concerns that a decision taken by the association (...)

The principle of fault in EU competition law: C-681/11 Schenker & Co and others*
In C-681/11 Schenker & Co and others this was more or less the defence a couple of Austrian transport companies came up with after being fined for infringing competition rules. Those companies had received (...)

No pot of gold at the end of the Rainbow*
A decision by joint operators of an oil field to use a single fluid hauler was not an unlawful conspiracy, the Alberta Court of Appeal held recently, overturning a 2011 decision that awarded about $8 million to the loser of a competitive bidding (...)

On 23 May 2013, the European Commission announced that it had accepted commitments offered by Star Alliance members Air Canada, United and Lufthansa in the context of the Commission’s examination of their cooperation on the transatlantic air passenger transport market. The Commission had (...)

Article published on Centre for Competition Policy Blog.
The UK’s New Cartel Offence: It Could Be Alright on the Day*
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 drops the requirement of dishonesty and excludes cartel agreements made openly. At a late stage three additional defences were (...)

On 19 April 2013, the European Commission launched a market test of the commitments offered by Penguin, aimed at reaching a settlement in the EU investigation into e-book pricing.
In order to alleviate the Commission’s fears for collusion and higher prices in the e-book publishing sector, (...)

Various experts in the field of competition legislation recently came together to comment on a draft proposal (“Draft Proposal”) for the first ever amendments to the 2009 Law on Protection of Competition (the “Competition Law”) Although there is general agreement that the Competition Law contained (...)

Antitrust in Mozambique? …could have stayed in COMESA*
We know it’s a somewhat brusque title for a “new competition regime” post. But we must ask ourselves: Why is the República de Moçambique now joining the growing cadre of countries with a competition-law regime — almost exactly half a year after (...)

ARD/ZDF Online Platform "Germany’s Gold" raises competition concerns*
The Bundeskartellamt takes a critical view of the ARD/ZDF online platform project "Germany’s Gold". In April 2012 several companies of the ARD and ZDF broadcasting groups, together with eleven other production and licensing (...)

TCA Hits Banks With Record Fines*
In Friday evening (8 March 2013), after the closing of stock exchange, the TCA has announced its long-awaited decision regarding major banks of Turkey. The TCA hits 12 major banks with record fines totalling 1,11 billion Turkish liras (around 480 million (...)

On 19 February 2013 the Spanish Competition Commission (“CNC”) adopted a resolution rendering legally binding the commitments offered by the Inter-Professional Union of the Community of Madrid (“UICM”) in order to alleviate the anti-competitive allegations raised against it.
The CNC initiated its (...)

Article published on Centre for Competition Policy blog.
The Significance of China’s First Fine on an International Cartel*
On 4 January 2013, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced that CNY 353 million (around £35m) would be paid by six South Korean and Taiwanese (...)

Introduction
In January of 2013, the Federal Trade Commission and Google (acting through its subsidiary, Motorola Mobility) signed a Consent Order ending the agency’s investigation into a number of practices. Much of the Order is aimed at imposing antitrust-based limits on the allowable process (...)

On 28 December 2012, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has imposed a total fine of 55 million Euros against the two private TV-broadcasting groups Pro7Sat1 and RTL, as well as two individuals. The two undertakings allegedly entered into an anti-competitive agreement. The FCO found that in (...)

European Commission renders legally binding commitments on Rio Tinto Alcan*
On 20 December 2012, the Commission issued a press release stating that it has made legally binding the commitments offered by Rio Tinto Alcan (“Alcan”) to address the Commission’s concerns that Alcan might have infringed (...)

Tesco scores partial victory in cheese cartel*
In a judgment handed down this afternoon, the Competition Appeal Tribunal largely upheld Tesco’s appeal against the OFT’s decision that it had participated in unlawful agreements relating to the price of cheese: see Tesco Stores Ltd v Office of Fair (...)

Press Release published on the official website of the French Competition Authority. The Autorité de la concurrence fines the companies Fnac, France Billet and Ticketnet for entering into anticompetitive agreements*
Following a referral from the French Minister for Economy, the Autorité de la (...)

1. Legal Background
Among the augmentations of Ireland’s competition regime made by recent amendments to the Competition Act 2002 is section 14B. This new section of the Competition Act provides that the Competition Authority, after an investigation of anticompetitive practices by an (...)

The commitments decision concerns the Federal Cartel Office’s (FCO) proceedings against Lufthansa‘s contracts with business clients and the collection of sensitive client information which might be anti-competitive.
Background
The FCO commenced proceedings against Lufthansa in September 2009, (...)

European Commission accepts commitments for sale of e-books by international publishers and Apple*
On 13 December 2012, the Commission issued a press release stating that it has made legally binding the commitments offered by Apple and four international publishers for the sale of e-books in (...)

Sad but true*
I love commitments decisions because they are a quick read.
But I also hate dislike them because they leave the reader angry hungry for more.
Some evidence: in the E-Books case, the effect on trade condition was deemed fulfilled under the simplest possible sort of analysis: (...)

Important U.S. Developments Relating to “Reverse Payment” Patent Settlements*
There have been two key recent developments in the U.S. relating to the legal dispute over patent settlements including so-called “reverse payments.” First, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review an Eleventh Circuit (...)

Important U.S. Developments Relating to “Reverse Payment” Patent Settlements*
There have been two key recent developments in the U.S. relating to the legal dispute over patent settlements including so-called “reverse payments.” First, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review an Eleventh Circuit (...)

Slovakia: Cash Incentives to Whistleblowers?*
At the end of 2012 the Slovak Antimonopoly Office presented its future plans for public discussion. Various aspects such as the announced prioritisation of antitrust enforcement, the incentives for settlement of antitrust cases, the establishment (...)

On 4 October 2012 the Croatian Competition Authority (AZTN) accepted the committments of the Croatian Autoclub (HAK) in relation to the non-competition clauses in the agreements for emergency technical assistance services and closed its investigation into the alleged anti-competitive practices (...)

When Internet Traffic and Peering Agreement meet French Competition Law*
On September 20, 2012, the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence) released an interesting decision that is believed to be the first on this topic by a competition authority. It confirms that data network (...)

On September 20, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed KeySpan’s victory in Simon v. KeySpan, holding for the first time that the filed rate doctrine can bar private claims related to market-based rates that arise from regulated auctions. While the Court (...)

Original case
In 2011, an investigation launched on the national market of media rights over football competitions brought the first case in which the investigated parties proposed commitments based on the new guidelines on commitments adopted by the Romanian Competition Council (“RCC”) in the (...)

On 19 July 2012 the Bulgarian Commission on Protection of Competition (“CPC”) handed down a commitments decision (the “Commitments Decision”) and closed an investigation for alleged horizontal coordination of pricing and marketing policy by six retailers – “Metro Cash & Carry Bulgaria” EOOD (...)

Following a commitment procedure, the French NCA issued a decision on 5 July 2012 making compulsory the commitments submitted by several French banks (Banque de France, BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Crédit du Nord, LCL, BPCE, HSBC, Banque Postale, Crédit Mutuel, CIC) and their representative (...)

France: French Banks’ Commitments to suppress inter-bank Fees applied to direct Debits, interbank Orders and other non-cash Payments made binding by the Autorité*
On 5 July 2012, the Autorité de la concurrence (the Autorité) accepted commitments from 11 banks, including the national central bank (...)

Viasat violates a decision subject to conditions imposed by the Danish Competition Council in the case of Viasat’s business terms*
On 27 June 2012, the Danish Competition Council decided that Viasat has violated a decision subject to conditions imposed by the Council in the case of Viasat’s (...)

Denmark: Viasat infringes Conditions imposed by Competition Council’s Decision in Distribution of TV Channels Case*
On 27 June 2012, the Danish Competition Council (the Council) found that Viasat had infringed the conditions imposed by the Council’s decision of 30 September 2009 on Viasat‘s (...)

After years of discussions, the Hong Kong Legislative Council finally passed a comprehensive competition law (the "HK Competition Law").
The HK Competition Law includes the classic prohibitions of anticompetitive agreements and abuses of market power, as well as a merger control regime (with (...)

The European Commission announced, on 18 June 2012, that it had adopted a decision to make legally binding commitments offered by Siemens AG (“Siemens”) and Areva SA (“Areva”) to reduce the scope and duration of certain non-compete and confidentiality obligations imposed on Siemens further to (...)

On 18 June 2012, the Swedish Competition Authority (“SCA”) adopted a decision accepting voluntary commitments offered by the Swedish office supply chain Rationella Kontors Varuinköp (“RKV”) no longer to provide any price information in future product- and calendar catalogues in which member (...)

Article published on Centre for Competition Policy blog.
OFT’s Proposed Reforms Fall Short of Ensuring Independence in Antitrust Decision Making*
The OFT is currently consulting on its proposed new investigation procedures in competition cases. Much of what is proposed is very good – but the (...)

On 2 March 2012, the General Court (“GC”) has partly upheld ING’s appeal against a Commission decision of 2009 regarding various forms of aid granted by the Dutch State to the banking group ING in the context of the latter’s restructuring plan during the financial crisis. The ING group had (...)

Denmark: Network Sharing Agreement in Danish Mobile Telecommunications Sector*
On 29 February 2012, the Danish Competition Council (DCC) decided that it had no grounds for action in a case concerning a horizontal production agreement between the mobile operators Telia Denmark and Telenor A/S. (...)

On 29 February 2012, the Danish Competition Council accepted commitments offered by two Nordic telecom operators in connection with a notification of an agreement by which the two telecom operators combined their respective Radio Access Network in a joint venture.
Background
Telia Sonera AB (...)

France: The Autorité de la concurrence publishes Framework Document on Competition Compliance Programmes and Notice regarding its Antitrust Settlement Procedure*
Following a two-month public consultation, the Autorité de la concurrence (the Autorité) published on 10 February 2012 a framework (...)

Germany: Green Light for current Marketing Model of Football League Media Rights *
On 17 April 2012, the award procedure for the media rights of the 1st and 2nd German football leagues has been concluded.
On 12 January 2012, the Bundeskartellamt (BKartA) accepted the commitments offered by (...)

On 28 December 2011, the Council of the Spanish Competition Commission (the «Council«, the «SCC«) decided to accept the commitments that had been previously submitted by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (Federación Española de Municipios y Provincias,«FEMP«), the Spanish (...)

On 16 December 2011, the French Competition Authority made binding the commitments proposed by Carrefour concerning its Carrefour Market franchise agreement. In August 2010, Marcadet (a Carrefour franchisee) complained to the French Competition Authority concerning certain commercial (...)

Romania: Public Consultation on Commitments submitted by Orange Romania and its Distributors*
On 2 November 2011, the public consultation launched by the Competition Council (RCC) on the commitments submitted by Orange Romania was closed. The commitments were offered in a case regarding an (...)

Cyprus: Leniency Programme to enter into Force*
On 27 October 2011, the Regulations on Granting Immunity and/or Reducing administrative fines in cases of infringements of section 3 of Law 13(I)/2008 and/or Article 101 TFEU (Leniency Programme), were approved by the House of Representatives. (...)

United Kingdom: Office of Fair Trading (OFT) consults on update Penalty and Leniency Guidance*
On 26 October 2011, the OFT published two revised guidance documents, setting out proposals to update its approach to financial penalties and to awarding leniency in competition cases. The OFT will (...)

Denmark: Commitments to modify Industry Guideline on automatic Sprinkler Systems*
On 26 October 2011, the Danish Competition Council (DCC) adopted a commitment decision pursuant to Section 16a of the Danish Competition Act, in order to prevent competition restrictions in the Danish market for (...)

On 21 July 2011, the Lithuanian Competition Council adopted commitments decision in the case which concerned allegedly anti-competitive vertical cooperation between producers/suppliers and wholesalers of pharmaceutical products with regards to their participation in tenders organised by (...)

Background
The judgement in comment (Judgement of TAR of Lazio n. 6171 of 11 July 2011) has annulled the final decision of the Italian Antitrust Authority ("IAA") of 3 November 2010 ("IAA Decision") which closed the proceeding against Mastercard and eight Italian banks ( the "Parties") and (...)

France: The Autorité de la concurrence makes Commitments cutting MIFs on Payment Cards by 20% to 50% binding*
On 7 July 2011, the Autorité de la concurrence (the Autorité) made commitments from the Groupement des Cartes Bancaires (the Groupement), which includes over 130 banks, binding whereby (...)

On July 7, 2011, the French Competition Authority (hereinafter the “Authority”) issued a decision whereby it accepts settlement of an investigation and makes mandatory the commitments proposed by “Groupement des Cartes Bancaires”,an Economic Interest Group which brings together more than 130 banks (...)

On 30 June 2011 the NCC has decided to close a formal proceeding opened ex officio against Corporación Vocento S.A.U. and Vocento, S.A. (VOCENTO) and Publipress Media, S.L.U. and Grupo Godó de Comunicaciones S.A. (GODÓ) for possible restrictive practices under Article 1 SCA. The practices (...)

On June 30, 2011, the Spanish Competition Commission (Comisión Nacional de la Competencia or “CNC”) agreed to the termination, subject to commitments, of the sanctioning proceedings initiated against several broadcast television companies for adopting horizontal agreements relating to sales and (...)

On 22 June 2011 the Danish Competition Council issued a decision dealing with the question whether a Danish municipality (municipality of Furesø) had rented a Center for Sport and Culture to a local football club (FC Nordsjaelland) to a price below market price, leading to a grant of unlawful (...)

By its second decision of 22 June 2011 in the Kastrup Marina Case the Danish Competition Council has for the first time ever ordered full recovery of unlawful and incompatible aid under Section 11a in the Danish Competition Act (corresponding to Article 107 of the EUF Treaty). The first (...)

In its decision N°11-D-08 dated 27 April 2011, the French Competition Authority (the «Competition Authority«) accepted the commitments offered by Accentiv’Kadéos in relation to exclusivity agreements between it and its partner brands in the multi-brand gift cards sector.
Background
On August 2009, (...)

On 26 April 2011, the President of the Office for Competition and Consumers Protection (the «OCCP» or the «Office») issued a decision in which it found that Scotts Poland sp. z o.o. (the «Scotts» or the «Company»), a subsidiary of Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, applied a resale price maintenance clause in (...)

On 19 April 2011 the Romanian Competition Authority (CC) accepted the commitments proposed by the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) and, one of its members, the Romanian Professional Football League (LPF) in relation to the joint selling of the media rights and thus closed its investigation (...)

The CC Fines for Prohibited Agreement in Contracts between Anchor Tenant and Owner of Shopping Malls*
On 8 April 2011 the Competition Council (CC) adopted a decision establishing the existence of a prohibited agreement between retail chain (Rimi group) and lessor of selling space in shopping (...)

France: The Autorité de la Concurrence market-tests Commitments on MIFs, including on Debit and Credit Cards*
Following a complaint made by two professional associations of merchants and retailers against ultilateral interchange fees (MIFs)used in the various payment systems in France, the (...)

The Italian Competition Authority (hereafter Agcm) has accepted and made binding commitments offered by the National Consortium established under Italian private law to rationalize, organize and promote the recovery and recycling of cellulose-based packaging(hereafter “COMIECO”).
The Agcm stated (...)

Prohibited Agreement in Banking Sector*
On 3 March 2011 the Competition Council (CC) decided that 22 Latvian commercial banks have infringed Article 11 Part 1.1 of the Competition Law by participating in the Multilateral agreement on the interchange fee for cash withdrawals at ATM, cash (...)

Press Release published on the official website of the French Competition Authority. The Autorité de la concurrence fines four companies that rigged bids for procurement contracts in the sector of painting services for naval equipments and engineering structures*.
After the French Minister of (...)

Can the Justice Department Seek Disgorgement for a Sherman Act Violation?*
The federal district court in New York City ruled last week that the Department of Justice was entitled to seek disgorgement as a remedy for an alleged Sherman Act violation. The court approved a consent decree, which (...)

The European Commission’s revised Guidelines on Horizontal Cooperation have met with mixed reactions from practitioners and businesses, especially insofar as information exchange is concerned. However, a decision of the UK Office of Fair Trading (“OFT”) applying the new Guidelines gives a (...)

This article is the winner for business category, general antitrust section of the 2012 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to read more about the Antitrust Writing Awards.
Summary
Britain’s Office of Fair Trading (the UK consumer and competition authority) has negotiated an agreement that (...)

* Article published in ECN Brief 01/2011. The original title of this article appears below the e-Competitions title. Please note that the ECN is not the actual "author" of this case summary, but the mere source. As mentioned by the ECN : "The information provided by the ECN Brief is for (...)

Introduction
The Swedish Competition Authority (“SCA”) accepted a commitment subject to a fine of SEK 750 000 from a franchiser to, firstly, cease fixing prices centrally via its online system for cash registers and secondly, to make clear that the prices set by the franchiser were recommended (...)

Payment cards: Visa debit card fees go down*
1. Background
Card payments represent about 35 % of all non cash payments in the EU 27. It is estimated that businesses pay tens of billions of euros (25 billion in 2005) in fees per year to accept cards. The Commission has a long history of (...)

I. Introduction
On 16 November 2010, the Regional Administrative Tribunal of Latium (the “TAR Latium”) annulled a decision by which the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”), rejected the commitments proposed by MasterCard in a proceeding pursuant to Article 101 TFEU (the “Commitments”). (...)

Denmark: Scandlines - Commitments to remove a Prohibition against Resale of Ferry Tickets for Freight
On 27 October 2010, the Competition Council adopted a decision which renders legally binding the commitments offered by Scandlines to remove a prohibition against the resale of ferry tickets (...)

Introduction
By a commitments decision taken on 30 September 2010 the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) closed two parallel investigations against the Italian Banking Association (ABI) and Consorzio Bancomat, respectively. The ICA found the set of commitments offered by the parties to be (...)

In August 2010, the Slovenian Competition Authority (hereinafter: Competition authority) accepted the commitments offered by Samsung Electronics Austria GmbH (hereinafter: Samsung Austria) concerning the exercise of right arising from warranty claims. The Competition authority found that (...)

Background
On 29 July 2010, the Competition Commission published its provisional decision regarding its investigation into the payment protection insurance (“PPI”) market and invited comments to be submitted before 3 September 2010.
The provisional decision was the latest step in a process (...)

The Italian branch of Sotheby’s, Sotheby’s S.r.l. (hereninafter SHT), sells and buys antiques, arts and collection items during public auctions. The Italian Antitrust Authority (hereinafter ICA), started investigation in March 2010, because was reported that SHT provided incomplete and deceiving (...)

Reaching the end of a three-year investigation, today the Department of Justice Antitrust Division asked a New York federal court to approve the DOJ’s settlement of claims that KeySpan violated the antitrust laws by manipulating the NYC wholesale electricity market. The DOJ claimed KeySpan (...)

Germany: Energy Suppliers agree to abandon Resale Prohibitions
The Bundeskartellamt has concluded on 7 July 2010 most of its proceedings against gas and electricity suppliers on account of their imposing inadmissible resale bans. Twelve of the major energy suppliers in Germany (RWE, EWE, (...)

On 29th June 2010, the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) published revised guidance on the issue of Director Disqualification Order (DDO) in competition cases. The legal provisions relating to DDO are contained in the Company Directors Disqualification Act, 1986 as amended by the Enterprise Act, (...)

The Autorité de la concurrence accepts commitments enabling all market operators to use Webcoupon or to develop equivalent solutions.*
After a referreal by the Institut de liaisons et d’études des industries de consommation (ILEC), and the company Ma Liste de Courses (MLDC), which complained of (...)

The European Commission has recently consulted on commitments offered by Visa Europe in the context of the Commission’s ongoing investigation into multilateral interchange fees (“MIF”). MIFs are charged by a cardholder’s bank (the “issuing bank”) to a merchant’s bank (the “acquiring bank”) for each (...)

"State aid: main developments between 1 May and 31 August 2010"*
The Commission approved on 20 May 2010 a €1.5 billion recapitalisation provided by Belgium in the context of the restructuring of Ethias, a Belgian insurer that ran into severe difficulties in 2008.
Ethias historically operated (...)

On 24 March 2010, the Danish Competition Council adopted a commitment decision, cf. section 16 a of the Danish Competition Act, allowing Bestseller A/S to regain access to price information from its franchise partners - irrespective of a previous injunction issued by the Competition Council in (...)

On 10 March 2010, the European Commission opened a consultation on remedies offered by British Airways (“BA”), American Airlines (“AA”) and Iberia in the context of its review of the airlines’ envisaged cooperation relating to transatlantic flights under Article 101 TFEU. The three airlines have (...)

BACKGROUND
The Paris Court of Appeals (hereafter “the Court”) confirms a decision by the French Competition Council (hereafter “the Council”) which fined SNCF and Expedia, Inc. (hereafter “Expedia”) in a decision No. 09-D-06 of 5 February 2009. The appeal was brought by Karavel (a travel agency, (...)

Until last week, the U.S. Department of Justice had not sought to obtain disgorgement as a remedy in a civil Sherman Act case. In the antitrust lawsuit and settlement filed on February 22 in U.S. v. KeySpan, the Antitrust Division asks that the court approve a settlement requiring the defendant (...)

U.S. Department of Justice remains concerned over antitrust issues raised by “Google Books” settlement*
On 4 February 2010 the U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement of interest regarding the proposed amended settlement agreement in The Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google Inc. with the (...)

The European Commission has recently confirmed that it is investigating the sufficiency of remedies proposed by British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia in the context of its review of the compatibility of the airlines’ envisaged cooperation relating to transatlantic flights with Article (...)

Spain: The Comisión Nacional de la Competencia (CNC) closes Satellite Pay TV Case following Commitments
On 28 January 2010, the CNC Council resolved by means of a commitments decision the formal proceedings in case TRIO PLUS, opened against Telefónica Cable, S.A.U. and Sogecable, S.A. for having (...)

On 11 January 2010, the French Competition Authority handed down its first decision of 2010, accepting the commitments undertaken by Apple and Orange to waive any distribution exclusivity on current and future iPhones models.
Such Commitment Decision, taken pursuant to Article L. 464-2 I of (...)

The "Consiglio Nazionale dell’Ordiene degli Psicologi" ("CNOP") is the organ which represents the Council of psychologists at national level: it approves the professional ethics code, it manages the internal organization, compiles the balance sheets, and ensures the respect of the legislation, (...)

Lithuania: The Competition Council (CC) closes Investigation in Retail Trade of Automobiles and Technical Maintenance Sector following Commitments
On 24 December 2009, the Lithuanian Competition Council terminated its investigation concerning the compliance of the practices of vehicle traders (...)

The Competition Council Fines Two Kiosk Chains for Prohibited Agreement*
On 16 December 2009 the Competition Council of Latvia adopted a decision establishing a prohibited agreement between two kiosk chains – Plus Punkts Ltd. and Narvesen Baltija Ltd./Preses apvienība Ltd. – and imposed fines in (...)

"State aid: main developments between 1 September and 31 December 2009"*
On 15 December 2009, the European Commission endorsed commitments made by the Dutch authorities to bring the social housing system into line with EU state aid rules. In particular, the Dutch authorities will ensure that (...)

On 25 November 2009, the Danish Competition Council adopted a commitment decision, cf. Section 16 a of the Danish Competition Act, whereby the Textile Services Association undertook to cease the exchange of a cost index for industrial laundries and to disband the association’s cost-index (...)

"State aid: main developments between 1 September and 31 December 2009"*
ING received a € 10 billion capital injection from the Dutch state on 22 October 2008. This was authorised by the Commission as rescue aid on 13 November 2008. After early redemption of € 5 billion before the end of 2009, (...)

In a judgment dated 29 October 2009, the French Court of Appeal made a reference for a preliminary ruling under article 234 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (the “EC Treaty”), whereby the ECJ was asked to answer “the question whether a general and absolute ban on Internet sales to (...)

In a decision dated 26 October 2009, the French Competition Authority decided, pursuant to Article L. 464-2 I of the French commercial code, to close the proceedings opened against the Photomaton Company, in exchange of certain commitments regarding the long-term exclusive agreements it had (...)

"Commitment decision in the ship classification case: Paving the way for more competition"*
I. Introduction
On 14 October 2009, the Commission adopted a decision under Article 9(1) of Regulation 1/2003 that renders legally binding commitments offered by the International Association of (...)

The Hungarian competition authority, the Gazdasági Versenyhivatal (GVH) accepted commitments from the lawyer’s Bar of Békés Megye (Békés Megyei Ügyvédi Kamara; further on: BMÜK). The GVH initiated the investigation on 7 May 2007, because it was thought that the BMÜK with the imposition of procedural (...)

Following its 2001 and 2004 decisions to investigate competition in the field of management of professional football rights, the Autorité de la concurrence imposed a fine of 6.9 million € on the Fédération Française du football (FFF), the French football association, and Sportfive for their (...)

According to a press release of 30 July 2009, the Spanish Competition Authority imposed fines totalling € 7.9 million on REPSOL, CEPSA and BP (the three main suppliers of fuel in Spain) for violating the competition rules by engaging in resale price maintenance in their relations with (...)

Introduction
In a decision of the 24th July 2009, Mr. Justice McKechnie found the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (VFI) and the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) had breached the terms of settlement agreed with the Competition Authority. The case arose out of complaint from the Competition (...)

"Restructuring of Gdansk Shipyard — outlook good for return to viability after four-year investigation"*
On 22 July 2009, the Commission authorised State aid granted or planned by Poland for restructuring Gdansk Shipyard. The Commission found that both the € 94 million of aid already received by (...)

By a recent decision, the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has closed an investigation into two anticompetitive agreements affecting the banking market for payment services by accepting and making binding a set of commitments presented by the parties upon the basis of Art. 14-ter of the Act (...)

Stories on the Fining Regulation (2): A New Hope?*
In the episode IV of the epic movie Star Wars, Luke Skywalker shows up to restore justice in the galaxy before all hopes are wiped out by the tyrannical Darth Vader, formerly known as Anakin Skywalker who is the father of Luke. At this point, (...)

Stories on the Fining Regulation (1): Can Anyone Spot The Difference?*
The story begins in January 2008 by the amendments made to the Competition Act. These amendments mainly contain the inclusion of the leniency and the possibility of imposition of fines on individuals. Apart from that, the (...)

On 2 February 2009, the French Competition Council ("the Council") fined several agencies active in the temporary employment sector in France (Adecco, Adia, Manpower and VediorBis - "the Companies") for concerted practices.
Context
Temping enables businesses desiring more flexibility to use (...)

The present decision n° RKT-107/2008 of 31 December 2008 relates to some provisions of the cooperation agreement signed by one of the biggest ice-cream manufacturers in Poland, i.e., Przedsiêbiorstwo Produkcji Lodów “KORAL” - Józef Koral spólka jawna (hereafter: KORAL) and a chain of convenience (...)

A new Bulgarian Act on the Protection of Competition (the “New APC”) entered into force on 2 December 2008. The New APC is aimed at the further convergence of the Bulgarian substantive and procedural rules in the field of antitrust, abuse of dominance and merger control with the Community (...)

Summary
The Competition Commission has recently invited consultation on its proposed remedies to improve competition in the payment protection insurance (PPI) market. The Competition Commission designed the proposed remedies to overcome a “point-of-sale” advantage that suppliers of loans enjoy. (...)

According to a press release of 6 October 2008, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) closed its proceedings against six regional gas suppliers belonging to the E.ON group in exchange for a commitment according to which the companies agree not to increase prices for two months and to pay a (...)

Description of the impugned case
Resale price of the products manufactured by the Roullier group were sent to the distributors. In addition, sales force of the Roullier group were regularly taking orders directly from the clients in lieu of the distributors.
While taking orders from clients, (...)

On 7 August 2008, the German Competition Authority made binding the commitments offered by RWE Aktiengesellschaft and RWE Energie AG (a German gas supplier) thereby closing its investigation into the gas supply contracts concluded by these suppliers with large regional and local distributors. (...)

In a statement dated 24 July 2008, which is not a formal decision, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has informed the German Football League (DFL) that in its current form the model, which DFL proposes for marketing TV broadcasting rights for the football league, does not meet competition (...)

"The CISAC decision - creating competition between collecting societies for music rights"*
I. Introduction
On 16 July 2008 the European Commission adopted a decision prohibiting 24 European collecting societies from restricting competition as regards the conditions for the management and (...)

On 7 July 2008, the President of the Office for Competition and Consumers’ Protection (‘the OCCP’ or “the Office’) confirmed that Xella Polska Sp. z o.o., a part of the Franz Haniel & Cie Gmbh capital group (“Xella Polska") and its 10 distributors had infringed the competition law rules by (...)

On February 1, 2007, Xella Polska Sp. z o.o. («Xella») signed a number of contracts with its distributors regulating the conditions of supply of wall-building materials by Xella. Each of the contracts included a clause forbidding the distributor from reselling Xella‘s products at a price lower (...)

On 28 May 2008, the Danish Competition Council (the “Competition Council”) extended until 31 December 2011 the period of application of certain commitments that it had previously accepted from Carlsberg in 2005. These commitments addressed a number of competitive concerns expressed by the (...)

In two orders of 20 March and 21 May 2008, the Hungarian Competition Authority (the “GVH”) ended its investigation into an alleged price coordination by brokers at the Budapest Stock Exchange (the “BÉT”). The first order ended the investigation, due to the lack of evidence, into an alleged fixing (...)

The background of the investigation
The Competition Office initiated an investigation against the Budapest Stock Exchange ("BSE") and 11 trading companies, as it suspected an illegal horizontal coordination among the trading members of the BSE concerning (i) the amendment of BSE’s membership (...)

On 16 May 2008, the Hungarian Competition Council (the «Competition Council«) decided to accept the commitments offered by Borsodi Zrt. («Borsodi«), a large Hungarian brewer, and terminated its investigation into Borsodi‘s beer supply agreements. The Competition Council, first, found that the three (...)

The Hungarian Competition Council terminates an investigation concerning beer supply agreements by adopting a commitment decision and making the commitments of a beer producer binding, pursuant to which the duration of non-compete obligations is to be reduced to five years.
The background of (...)

On 27 February 2008, the Italian Antitrust Authority (IAA) conclusively accepted the commitments proposed by Poste Italiane (PI), the former monopolist of postal services in Italy) in relation to the investigation opened in August 2007 for the alleged breach of article 82 of the EC Treaty. The (...)

"Funding of public service broadcasting and State aid rules - two recent cases in Belgium and Ireland"*
I. Introduction
The present article illustrates the Commission’s State aid assessment practice concerning funding for public service broadcasters on the basis of two recent cases which were (...)

Background
On 8 August 2003, Messageries Lyonnaises de Presse (MLP) filed a complaint with the French Competition Council (Council) regarding anticompetitive conduct of NMPP and SAEM-TP. The present decision addresses only NMPP’s alleged attempt to evict MLP from the market by refusing to grant (...)

Background
In three famous decisions the European Commission decided that the central marketing of the media rights of the Football Premier League may give rise to horizontal and vertical competition concerns.. Particularly, the Commission stressed that media rights should be awarded according (...)

I. Introduction
In 2004, the first amendment to the Czech Competition Act was adopted which introduced into the national competition law a new mechanism designed for alternative resolution of certain competition disputes. By virtue of this amendment, the Office for the Protection of (...)

The Italian Council of State has recently ruled on appeals brought against the Italian Competition Authority’s decision in the jet fuel cartel case. In June 2006, the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) fined six major oil companies – Eni, Esso, Kuwait, Shell, Tamoil and Total– for their (...)

In 18 January 2007 the Italian Competition Commission (Autorita Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, ‘ICC’) launched an investigation in order to examine allegations of violation of article 101 TFEU and law 287/1990 consisting in restrictions in the italian market of automotive fuels by the (...)

Press Release published on the official website of the French Competition Authority.
Distribution of medicines: GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer commit themselves in front of the Conseil on the operating of their medicine quota system for wholesale distributors.*
History of the case
Following (...)

Press Release published on the official website of the French Competition Authority.
Conseil de la concurrence strengthens competition in the sector of car repair: Independent repairers will now have access to all Citroën’s tools necessary for repairing electronic breakdowns on the brand’s (...)

Background
The market for mobile television is still at an early stage of the development. In Germany, different mobile TV standards have undergone test phases but until now no German-wide system is in operation. Already in 2006, three major mobile phone network operators T-Mobile, T-Vodafone (...)

Commitments from Festina France on its distribution agreements, accepted by the French Competition Council (Conseil de la concurrence) in a decision of 24 July 2006, are the first ones to be submitted to the Paris Court of Appeal.
The Competition Council was seized by Bijourama, a jewel and (...)

"Four decisions bind DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Toyota and General Motors to commitments to give independent repairers proper access to repair information"*
I. Introduction: Importance of these decisions for consumers
It is commonly recognised that there is a widespread problem in the motor (...)

Article 9 of Council Regulation (EC) n° 1/2003, of 16 December 2002, on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty (OJEC L 1, 4 January 2003, pp. 1-25) (“Article 9”) is one of the major new features of the new EC competition rules adopted in May (...)

Press Release published on the official website of the French Competition Authority.
Agreement on the market for high voltage electric cables: The Conseil de la concurrence penalizes the major cable suppliers to €19.5 million for making an agreement during two successive invitations to bid (...)

Background
ABI is a non-profit association to which nearly all Italian banks belong. In August 2006, the Italian Banking Law (Legislative Decree n° 385/1993) was amended by Law n° 248/2006. Art. 10 of Law n° 248/2006, which lays down provisions that banks have to respect when changing (...)

Press Release published on the official website of the French Competition Authority.
Distribution of medicines: The Conseil accepts the commitments proposed by four pharmaceutical laboratories making the medicine quota system more flexible for wholesale distributors.*
History of the case (...)

Press Release published on the official website of the French Competition Authority.
Agreement in the sector of laundry cleaning and renting fined up to 18 million euros: The Conseil de la concurrence accepts innovative commitments from the sector’s two leaders - Elis and Initial BTB – who will (...)

As reported previously, in a decision of 13 June 2006 the Austrian Cartel Court had found that the cooperation agreements concluded between the majority of players in the Austrian savings banks sector violated Article 81(1) EC, but was partly exempt under Article 81(3) EC (See Axel Reidlinger (...)

Press Release published on the official website of the French Competition Authority.
Conseil de la concurrence facilitates online sale of cosmetic products: 10 companies of the cosmetic industry committed to introduce more competition into online sale of their products.*
The Conseil de la (...)

On 6 March 2007 the UK Competition Commission (“CC”) published for consultation a proposed final remedies package to remedy the competition issues provisionally identified by the CC in its review of the personal current account (“PCA”) banking services market in Northern Ireland.
The CC is the (...)

The Italian Parliament recently enacted several law provisions which modify the investigation proceedings of the Italian antitrust Authority (“Authority”). In Particular, the so called Bersani Decree allows the Authority to use legal tools (already adopted by the EC Commission after the enactment (...)

Press Release published on the official website of the French Competition Authority.
Agreement in the sector for the collection and the treatment of wastes in Seine-Maritime: As part of a negotiated settlement, subsidiaries of Veolia Propreté and Sita France benefited from extenuating (...)

On 21 December 2006, the UK’s Competition Commission published the results of its market investigation on the supply of printed classified directory advertising services (CDAS). In its report, the CC found that Yell, the largest supplier, had market power. This finding was based primarily on (...)

Access of local radios to national advertisement: The Conseil de la concurrence accepts the commitments of GIE Les Indépendants.*
In its decision dated October 6th 2006, the Conseil de la concurrence has accepted the commitments proposed by the GIE (economic interest group) Les indépendants, (...)

On 5 October 2006, the Conseil de la concurrence (French Competition Council) issued a decision in which it accepted to withdraw the litigation proceedings after three of the main companies active in the Hi-fi and home cinema equipment sector (Bose, Focal JM Lab and Triangle) agreed to (...)

The Bijourama Company is specialized in the sale of time pieces, jewellery and silversmith’s pieces exclusively on the internet. Bijourama submitted a referral to the French Competition Council on October 13th, 2005. The company complained about the refusal of Festina France (a subsidiary of the (...)

"REPSOL: Opening up the fuel distribution system in Spain"*
Introduction
On 12 April 2006, the Commission adopted a decision based on Article 9 of Regulation (EC) 1/2003 addressed to the largest petrol supplier in Spain, REPSOL Commercial de Productos Petroliferos (‘REPSOL‘), making commitments (...)

In this decision the national competition authority, the Czeh Office for the Protection of Competition (hereafter the “Office”) had a new opportunity to assess the validity of a vertical agreement concluded between the largest Czech brewer, Plzensky Prazdroj, a.s., and its distributors. The (...)

On 21 December 2005 the Danish Competition Council (DCC) approved a supply agreement between natural gas provider DONG and its customers Hovedstadsregionens Naturgas (HNG) and Naturgas Midt-Nord (MN), as the parties had given a binding commitment that would improve competition on the Danish gas (...)

Press Release published on the official website of the French Competition Authority.
Disney video cassettes for children: The Conseil de la concurrence fines the companies BVHE, Casino, Carrefour and SDO for engaging in vertical price agreements.*
Following a referral from the Ministry of (...)

On 26 October 2005 the Danish Competition Council granted clearance subject to commitments to Carlsberg’s supply agreements with the gastronomic sector.
The Danish Competition Authority was concerned that the degree to which Carlsberg was binding its retailers might be in conflict with Articles (...)

JFTC issues Recommendation to Companies Bidding for the Tire Tubes Ordered by the Japan Defense Agency*
The Fair Trade Commission of Japan (hereinafter “JFTC”) investigated into companies that bid for the tires or the tubes requested by the Japan Defense Agency (hereinafter “JDA”) based on the (...)

Recommendation to Companies which Tendered for Construction Work Ordered by the City of Niigata*
The Fair Trade Commission investigated participant in bids for construction work ordered by the City of Niigata based on the provisions of the Antimonopoly Act, and today issued a recommendation to (...)

Recommendation to Participants in Bid for Surveying and Civil Engineering Consultant Business Ordered by Yamagata Prefecture*
Based on the provisions of the Antimonopoly Act, the Fair Trade Commission examined participants in bids for business such as surveying and civil engineering (...)

JFTC rendered recommendation to the participants in a bid of estimated prices for the paving works, ordered by Osaka city*
The Fair Trade Commission of Japan (JFTC),following an investigation into the participants in comparison of estimates for the contracts of paving works called by the Water (...)

JFTC issues Recommendation to Companies Bidding for the Sewer Pump Installation Work Ordered by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government*
The Fair Trade Commission investigated into companies that bid for the sewer pump installation work requested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government based on the (...)

Description of the impugned case
The lease agreements of Bobájka (a producer of bakery products) contained straightforward RPM clauses and also exclusivity clauses (the tenants/retailers were obliged to sell exclusively the products of Bobájka within the territory of the leased property and only (...)

Consent Decision on Kimmon Mfg． Co．, Ltd*
The Fair Trade Commission decided to initiate a hearing for Kimmon Mfg. Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “the Respondent”) on August 25, 2003. Since then the examiners had conducted the hearing, and on January 23, 2004, the Respondent proposed (...)

JFTC issues recommendation to participants in biddings for survey works and construction consultation works ordered by Nagano Construction Office of the Nagano Prefectural Government*
The JFTC, following an investigation into participants in bidding for survey works and construction (...)

JFTC issues recommnendation etc． to Businesspersons Partincipating in Bidding on Construction Projects ordered by the Former City of Shimizu in Shizuoka Prefecture*
The Japan Fair Trade Commission conducted an investigation based on the stipulations of the Antimonopoly Act that targeted (...)

JFTC issues recommendation to participants in bidding for sewerege facility works ordered by the City of Kitakyushu*
The JFTC, following an investigation into participants in bidding for sewerage facility works ordered by the City of Kitakyushu, hereby issues the following recommendation based (...)

Consent Decision to Noguchi Hodo K．K.*
The JFTC had decided to initiate hearing procedures against Noguchi Hodo K.K. on 20 June 2003 and has been having examiners conduct the procedures.
The JFTC received a request for consent decision and plans for specific measures from Noguchi Hodo K.K. (...)

Consent decision issued to Taihei Building Service Corporation on bid-rigging for building cleaning works*
The JFTC, on 11 June 2003, decided to initiate hearing procedures against Taihei Building Service Corporation and has been having examiners conduct the procedures. The JFTC received a (...)

Consent decision issued to Taihei Building Service Corporation on bid-rigging for building cleaning works*
The JFTC, on 11 June 2003, decided to initiate hearing procedures against Taihei Building Service Corporation and has been having examiners conduct the procedures. The JFTC received a (...)

JFTC renders recommendation to bidders for water meters procured by Tokyo Metropolitan Government*
he JFTC, after conducting an investigation into bidders for water meters procured by Tokyo Metropolitan Government, today issued a recommendation to 19 companies against violation of Section 3 (...)

JFTC renders recommendation to bidders for construction works by City of Nagoya*
The JFTC, after conducting an investigation into bidders for construction works ordered by City of Nagoya, today issued a recommendation to 106 companies against violation of Section 3 (unreasonable restraint of (...)

JFTC Recommendation for participants in tenders for construction material price survey activities ordered by government offices under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Kanto Regional Development Bureau*
The Japan Fair Trade Commission has completed an (...)

JFTC issues a recommendation to participants in bids for paving works let by Kyoto-city．*
he JFTC, following an investigation into participants in bids for paving work contracts called by Kyoto-city, issued today a recommendation to 12 construction companies in violation of section (...)

"Vertical and horizontal restraints in the European gas sector – lessons learnt from the DONG/DUC case"*
1. Introduction
On 23 April 2003 the Commission services closed their investigation into the DONG/DUC case relating to the Danish gas market . This case as well as some other cases recently (...)

JFTC renders recommendation to building-cleaning companies for rigging bids by Yamaguchi City and Shimonoseki City．*
The JFTC has today issued recommendation to 29 participants in bids for building-cleaning by public offices in Yamaguchi City and Shimonoseki City for violating Section 3 (...)

"Commission approves partnership between British Airways and SN Brussels Airlines"*
Procedure
On 25 July 2002, British Airways (BA) and SN Brussels Airlines (SN) notified to the Commission a number of co-operation agreements requesting an exemption under Article 81 (3) of the Treaty.
These (...)

On 30 January 2003, the Office of Fair Trading (« OFT ») announced that it would cease its investigation into Bacardi-Martini Limited (« Bacardi »). The investigation, which had begun following complaints made by Pernod Ricard S.A. (« Pernod »), the owner of the Havana Club brand, in relation to (...)

JFTC recommendation to participants in bidding for a construction contract invited by Iwamizawa City and remedical actions requested of the Mayor of Iwamiawa City*
As for the bidding called by Iwamisawa-City for a construction contract, 126 participants in bidding received FTC recommendation (...)

NMa Will Also Conduct Intensive Investigations into the Construction Industry in 2003*
The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) will continue its intensive investigation into possible infringements of the Competition Act in the construction sector in 2003. NMa will continue to monitor the (...)

"Commission closes investigation into Lufthansa/SAS/United Airlines and KLM/NorthWest alliances"*
I. Introduction
On 28 October 2002 the European Commission decided to close its investigations under Article 85 (ex 89) of the Treaty into two transatlantic aviation alliances, that is the (...)

NMa: Dumeco Must Amend Its Restructuring Agreements*
Following information received from the sector, the Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) has investigated whether the recent termination of the slaughtering activities of a number of smaller pig abattoirs contravenes the Competition Act. (...)

"Aviation: Combining network synergies and competition — the Commission’s approval of the LH-AuA Alliance"*
1. Introduction
The liberalisation of the European air transport market during the 1990s has triggered a process of consolidation in the European airline industry. Apart from mergers, (...)

NMa Simplifies the Notification of Cartels in the Construction Industry*
The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) has made it easier for tendering services to give notification of irregularities which they observe in relation to tenders. For this purpose, NMa has developed a notification (...)

"Commission ends competition proceedings regarding German book price fixing agreements following acceptance of an undertaking on cross-border sales"*
Introduction
The Commission has been dealing with the system of fixed book prices in Germany and Austria since its first notification in 1993 (...)

NMa Upholds Earlier Prohibition on Maximum Discounts in the Clothing Sector*
The Nederland Competition Authority (NMa) has once again decided in a ruling on an administrative appeal that the system of maximum discounts applied by Vereniging Modint Ondernemersorganisatie voor mode en interieur (...)

"The Commission persuades Saeco to implement an international guarantee for its products and closes the complaint file"*
The Commission has addressed the problem of territorial restrictions of guarantees offered by manufacturers on many occasions and has always insisted that, where a (...)

"Commission approves British Midland International joining STAR alliance"*
On 1 March 2000 the airlines British Midland International (bmi), Lufthansa and SAS (hereinafter ‘The Parties’) notified to the European Commission a co-operation agreement in accordance with Regulation 3975/87 for a (...)

"Commission approves an agreement to improve energy efficiency of washing machines"*
On 24 January 2000, the Commission adopted an exemption decision regarding an agreement notified by the European Council of Domestic Appliance Manufacturers (CECED).
The agreement gathers the principal (...)

"The Commission approves joint venture between P&W and GE for new aircraft engine"*
Introduction
On 14 September 1999, the Commission adopted a Decision by which it approved the creation of a joint venture between Pratt & Whitney (P&W) and General Electric Aircraft Engines (GE). (...)

"Commission renews the exemption of United International Pictures BV"*
Introduction
On 9 September 1999, the Commission renewed, by means of an administrative ‘comfort’ letter, the exemption from 1989 under Article 81(3) of the EC Treaty of the agreements establishing United International (...)

"EACEM scheme to reduce stand by power use of TVs and VCRs receives a comfort letter because of its environmental benefits"*
The European association of consumer electronics manufacturers (EACEM) and sixteen of its members, all major manufacturers of televisions and video recorders, made a (...)

"Atlas/Phoenix"*
On 15 December 1995, the Commission published two Notices pursuant to Article 19 (3) of Regulation 17 [OJ C 337 of 15.12.95] indicating that it intends to take a favourable position and inviting third parties to send their observations with respect to the Atlas and Phoenix (...)

I. Italian antitrust law
Competition Law in Italy is set out by Law n° 287 of 10 October 1990 (hereinafter also the “Law”), which regulates restrictive practices, abuses of dominant positions and concentrations, in a manner substantially identical to the European regulation.
1. Restrictive (...)

On 7 December 2018, the European Commission (“Commission”) adopted a decision accepting a number of commitments from TenneT to address the Commission’s competition concerns regarding TenneT’s conduct that allegedly limited southward capacity at the electricity interconnector between Western Denmark (...)

Satellite Pay TV*
The Autorité de la concurrence makes the commitments of Groupe Canal Plus binding, leaving its subscribers free to choose their TV decoder to watch its programmes.
The complaint
A satellite decoder manufacturer lodged a complaint with the Autorité de la concurrence relating (...)

The EU’s Google Android antitrust decision falls prey to the nirvana fallacy*
Today the European Commission launched its latest salvo against Google, issuing a decision in its three-year antitrust investigation into the company’s agreements for distribution of the Android mobile operating (...)

Competition Council closes the investigation into Swedbank actions*
The Competition Council closed the investigation into the compliance of Swedbank actions with the requirements of the Law on Competition upon Swedbank submitting written commitments suitable for the elimination of the alleged (...)

Antitrust: Commission imposes binding obligations on Gazprom to enable free flow of gas at competitive prices in Central and Eastern European gas markets*
The European Commission has adopted a decision imposing on Gazprom a set of obligations that address the Commission’s competition concerns (...)

On 24 May 2018, the Commission adopted a decision accepting a number of commitments from Gazprom to address the Commission’s competition concerns regarding conduct by Gazprom that allegedly restricted the free flow of gas at competitive prices in Central and Eastern European gas markets.
The (...)

Market test on commitments of DOSB and IOC*
The Bundeskartellamt is currently conducting an administrative proceeding against the German Olympic Sports Confederation (Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund, DOSB) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Bundeskartellamt suspects that the (...)

DFB eases conditions for purchase of tickets for World Cup 2018*
The Bundeskartellamt has terminated its administrative proceeding against the German Football Association (DFB) which it had initiated on the suspicion that the association had abused its dominant position. Before this DFB had (...)

Introduction
On 10 November 2017, the Slovenian Competition Protection Agency (hereinafter referred to as the CPA) has adopted a decision that renders legally binding the commitments offered by GEOPLIN LLC. (hereinafter referred to as GEOPLIN), incumbent gas importer and supplier in the (...)

Sugar production / Picardie*
Tereos takes commitments under the French competition authority that it will open up its procurement contracts. Sugar beet growers will benefit from greater freedom to choose the sugar groups that they want to supply.
The complaint by Saint-Louis Sucre
France’s (...)

On 13 July 2017, the NMCC closed the Article 102 TFEU and Article 2 of the Spanish Competition Act (Competition Act) proceedings related to the supply of pharmaceutical marketing data to IMS Health (IMS) by means of a commitments decision.
The NMCC initiated the investigation, as a result of (...)

The NMCC has closed with commitments an investigation against Schweppes, S.A. related to restrictions of parallel trade.
The Coca-Cola group and Orangina Schweppes Holding B.V. (OSHBV) share the ownership of the Schweppes trademark in the EU. Coca-Cola owns the Schweppes trademark in the UK (...)

Antitrust: Commission accepts commitments from Amazon on e-books*
The European Commission has adopted a decision that renders legally binding the commitments offered by Amazon. The commitments address the Commission’s preliminary competition concerns relating to a number of clauses in Amazon’s (...)

On 22 March 2017, the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) accepted commitments from the copyright-collecting society NUOVOIMAIE (“NI”) aimed at addressing ICA’s concerns that NI had abused its dominant position on the Italian market for management and intermediation services in the audio-visual (...)

Proceedings against district heating suppliers concluded*
The Bundeskartellamt has concluded its proceedings on abusive pricing against district heating suppliers. In a number of supply areas the suppliers have offered commitments in response to the authority’s concerns about abusively (...)

The Autorité de la concurrence conducts an initial intermediary assessment of the commitments made by Booking.com.*
The Autorité has not ruled out the possibility of issuing an opinion at its own initiative if the change in competition so requires, and is actively contributing to all of the (...)

Antitrust: Commission seeks feedback on commitments offered by Amazon in e-book investigation*
The European Commission is inviting comments on commitments offered by Amazon to address competition concerns relating to parity clauses in contracts with publishers. The clauses may breach EU (...)

The Czech Competition Authority ("CCA") accepted in a decision of 20 December 2016 commitments offered by ČEZ, a partly state-owned Czech energy company, due to an alleged abuse of dominant position on the market for purchasing of brown coal. While the CCA refrained from final findings regarding (...)

The Investigation and Prosecution Service of the Belgian Competition Authority has closed its investigation against Immoweb due to commitments offered by Immoweb*
On January 30 2015, the Investigation and Prosecution Service opened an ex officio investigation against Immoweb, the company (...)

On 20 September 2016, the European Commission announced that it had imposed a € 6 million fine on Altstoff Recycling Austria (“ARA”) for abusing its dominant position on the Austrian waste management market by blocking competitors from entering the Austrian market between 2008 and 2012. Austrian (...)

On 15 September 2016, the General Court upheld the Commission’s decision accepting commitments proposed by Thomson Reuters with a view to remedying a finding of an abuse of a dominant position in the market for consolidated real-time data feeds, in breach of Article 102 TFEU.
The Commission had (...)

CCA accepts commitments by Flora VTC*
The Croatian Competition Agency (CCA) accepted the commitments offered by Flora VTC in the course of the ex-officio proceeding that it opened against this undertaking in April 2016.
The CCA established within the proceeding that on the basis of the Prices (...)

Monitoring launched in online hotel booking sector*
Monitoring the impact of the new parity clauses in the contracts with online travel agencies by the Italian Competition Authority in partnership with 9 other National Competition Authorities
The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM), in (...)

Antitrust: Commission accepts commitments by Paramount on cross-border pay-TV services*
The European Commission has made commitments offered by Paramount legally binding under EU antitrust rules. These address the Commission’s concerns regarding certain clauses in film licensing contracts for (...)

Antitrust: Commission accepts commitments by ISDA and Markit on credit default swaps*
The European Commission has adopted a decision that renders legally binding commitments to licence inputs for credit default swaps, offered separately by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (...)

Hotel booking platforms*
The Autorité de la concurrence launches, in collaboration with 9 national competition authorities and the European Commission, a survey among hoteliers in order to assess the effects of the remedies implemented in Europe in the hotel booking platforms sector. (...)

By a decision of 24 May 2016, the German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) announced that it had terminated proceedings against Deutsche Bahn AG after having accepted several commitments. In 2014, the FCO initiated an investigation against Deutsche Bahn AG and reached the preliminary conclusion that (...)

Deutsche Bahn AG to make changes to ticket sales*
Following investigations by the Bundeskartellamt, Deutsche Bahn AG has undertaken to make far-reaching changes to the sale of passenger tickets. The measures will improve the ticket sales possibilities of its competitors. In early 2014 the (...)

Antitrust: Commission seeks feedback on commitments by ISDA and Markit on credit default swaps*
The European Commission is inviting comments from interested parties on commitments offered separately by ISDA and by Markit to address competition concerns relating to the licensing of data and (...)

Bundeskartellamt approves marketing model for award of Bundesliga rights from 2017/18 football season onwards – DFL undertakes for first time to observe ’no single buyer’ rule*
The German League Association and the German Football League (DFL) have submitted a commitment to the Bundeskartellamt (...)

Antitrust: successful market opening allows early termination of commitments in Deutsche Bahn case*
The European Commission has relieved Deutsche Bahn ahead of schedule from commitments made binding in December 2013, as several competitors have now entered the German railway traction current (...)

On 8 April 2016, the Commission announced that it had adopted a decision to relieve Deutsche Bahn of its obligation to comply with a commitments decision made binding on the company in December 2013. According to the Commission, the commitments decision had achieved its “main purpose”, which it (...)

Tisak reviews the commission rates in newspapers sales*
The Croatian Competition Agency (CCA) accepted the committments of the undertaking Tisak with the view to eliminating possible anticompetitive effects in the commission sales of newspapers in the proceedings that has been carried out by (...)

CMA’s private healthcare provisional decision on remedies*
The CMA has provisionally found that likely changes in London’s private healthcare market mean that extra remedies would not be proportionate.
In April 2012, the Competition Commission, a predecessor body of the Competition and Markets (...)

Intervention of the Portuguese Competition Authority led to positive changes in the motor vehicles warranties*
The Portuguese Competition Authority (PCA) decided to close the infringement procedure against SEAT Portugal, Unipessoal, Lda. (SEAT Portugal) because the company, diligently, (...)

HCC has accepted commitments proposed by the PPC S.A. to address competition concerns with regard to the supply of electricity to Aluminium of Greece S.A.*
By a unanimous decision, the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC) accepted commitments proposed by the Public Power Corporation S.A. (PPC (...)

With its 29 December 2015 decision, the Estonian Competition Authority (“ECA”) closed proceedings concerning an alleged abuse of dominance by the leading vertically integrated electricity network operator in Estonia, Elektrilevi OÜ. The proceedings were closed without a decision on whether a (...)

Antitrust: Commission accepts commitments by Bulgarian Energy Holding to open up Bulgarian wholesale electricity market*
The European Commission has adopted a decision that renders legally binding the commitments offered by Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) to end competition restrictions on (...)

On December 10, 2015 the European Commission accepted the commitments proposed by Bulgarian Energy Holding to open up the Bulgarian wholesale electricity market. The decision should lead to greater liberalization and transparency on the wholesale electricity market in Bulgaria, thus enhancing (...)

The GVH accepted the commitments offered by Nielsen*
The Hungarian Competition Authority (Gazdasági Versenyhivatal, GVH) accepted the commitments offered by Nielsen Közönségmérés Kft. (Nielsen), pursuant to which in the future it will set the prices of its databases and of the related discounts (...)

On 5 November 2015, the Competition College of the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) imposed provisional measures with regard to TV rights for the Superprestige Cyclocross Competition to address a possible infringement of Article IV.1 and/or IV.2 of the Code of Economic Law (the Belgian (...)

CCA orders Mirnovec pirotehnika to change lease and business cooperation agreements*
Similar as in the recent proceeding that it carried out against the undertaking Orion in the same relevant market the Croatian Competition Agency (CCA) opened the ex officio proceeding following the initiative (...)

UOKiK issues commitment decisions in unit-linked life insurance cases as part of wide investigation of consumer abuses in the sector*
Three insurance companies – Polish units of Aviva, Allianz and Nationale Nederlanden – have committed to significantly reduce cancellation fees in existing (...)

PGNiG, Poland’s leading gas supplier, fined for failing to fully comply with a commitment decision*
UOKiK has fined Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo (PGNiG), a leading Polish oil and gas company, EUR 2.45 mln for failing to comply with a part of the commitment decision it had accepted in (...)

The PCA converts into mandatory conditions the commitments presented by Ford Lusitana regarding motor vehicle warranties*
The Portuguese Competition Authority (PCA) converts into mandatory conditions all the commitments presented by Ford Lusitana, S.A. (Ford), in order to address the (...)

The Competition Council launches for public debates the commitments formulated by S.C. GLAXOSMITHKLINE S.R.L.*
The Competition Council launches for public debates the commitments formulated by S.C. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) S.R.L. within the investigation on possible abuse of dominant position of (...)

First predatory pricing case before the Competition Tribunal*
A year ago, we at AAT reported on the intervention by competitors in the merger between Media24 and Paarl Media. Today, we want to highlight a “one-year-later” feature about that same company, which has now been found liable of (...)

Court agrees with the Competition Authority to fine the National Gas Supplier*
On 2 September, the Administrative Regional Court confirmed the Competition Council’s (CC) decision to impose the only natural gas supplier in Latvia – AS „Latvijas Gāze” – remedies to change the practice of debt (...)

1. Background In its decision dated 23/6/2015 the Cypriot Commission for the Protection of Competition (the “CPC”) held that the operator of the Larnaca and Paphos international Airports in Cyprus, Hermes Airports Ltd, (hereafter referred as “Hermes”) violated Section 6(1)(a) of the Cyprus Law on (...)

Gemicro committments accepted*
In the proceeding against the undertaking Gemicro the Croatian Competition Agency (CCA) accepted the committments made by Gemicro for the removal of anticompetitive effects and restoration of competition in the provision of specialised IT support to leasing (...)

A gravel producer in Crimea voluntarily eliminated violations of the antimonopoly law*
The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) terminated the case against “Sharkhinsky Quarry” Shareholding Company in the part of abusing dominance (Clause 6 Part 1 Article 10 of the Federal Law “On (...)

The Autorité de la concurrence obtains from TDF an improvement of the hosting contracts binding it to the mobile operators that use its pylons*
In the scope of proceedings initiated before the Autorité de la concurrence by FPS Towers (hereinafter FPS), TDF commits to limiting the duration of new (...)

Commitments offered by booking.com: closed the investigation in Italy, France AND Sweden*
On 21 April 2015, the Italian Competition Authority has rendered legally binding the commitments offered by Priceline Group’s companies Booking.com BV and Booking.com (Italy) and closed, with respect to (...)

Online hotel booking sector*
The Autorité de la concurrence, in coordination with the European Commission and the Italian and Swedish authorities, has obtained particularly extensive commitments from Booking.com aiming to boost competition between online booking platforms and give hotels more (...)

FTC Seeks to Secure First Disgorgement in Nearly a Decade*
The FTC announced yesterday that Cardinal Health, Inc. (“Cardinal”) has agreed to pay $26.8 million to resolve its investigation into the company’s alleged anticompetitive behavior. If approved by a federal court, the settlement would (...)

The Swedish Competition Authority decided, on 15 April 2015, to approve the voluntary commitments presented by Bookingdotcom Sverige AB and Booking.com BV (below, jointly referred to as “Booking.com”). The commitments are associated with a fine of SEK 5 million (approx. EUR 550 000) for (...)

Not out of hot water: Direct Energy’s exit does not end abuse case*
Direct Energy’s exit from the hot water heater rental market did not turn down the heat from the Commissioner
The exit of a respondent in an abuse of dominance case does not mean the case cannot continue, the Competition (...)

COFECE Resolution Will Allow Haas Avocado Exportation to the U.S.A. for all Packers in Mexico*
• The APEAM agreed to eliminate anticompetitive practices that imposed barriers on Hass avocado exports to the U.S.A.
• COFECE will survey the APEAM’s strict compliance with proposed remedies.
Mexico (...)

On February 10, 2015, as one of the global antitrust enforcement powerhouses by now, the National Development and Reform Commission of PRC (“NDRC”) issued its sanction decision against the US semiconductor giant Qualcomm Incorporated (“Qualcomm), imposing a fine of RMB 6.088 billion (equivalent to (...)

On March 2, 2015, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”), the agency responsible for investigating price-related violations of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (the “AML”), published a decision (the “NDRC Decision”) regarding its investigation into alleged anticompetitive conduct by (...)